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听众 Terence 来信询问单词 “plunge”、“plummet” 和 “slump” 之间的区别。这三个词都可以作名词和动词，用来描述 “人或物体的位置突然下降”，它们也都能被用在谈论数据、金钱、商业等抽象的语境中表示 “暴跌”。听 “你问我答” 节目辨析这三个近义词的用法。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Beth
Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week, with me, Beth.

Jiaying
And me, Jiaying. 本期节目中我们要回答的问题来自听众 Terence，问题是这样的：

Question
I would like to know the nuance between 'plunge', 'slump' and 'plummet'. All these words mean '暴跌、暴降、猛跌、猛降' except 'plummet'. Please can you also talk about some other synonyms to 'plunge'? Thank you.

Jiaying
Thank you for your question. 包括 “plummet” 在内的这三个词之间主要有三个共同点。第一，从含义上看，它们都可以翻译成 “突然下降”。

Beth
Secondly, they can all be nouns and verbs.

Jiaying
第三，从用法上看，它们都可以用在谈论数据、金钱和商业的语境中。

Beth
And they all have a quite literal or physical meaning, which we will explain soon. 

Jiaying
先来对比一下 “plunge” 和 “plummet” 作动词时的区别。这两个词都可以用来描述 “人或事物的位置突然下降”。

Beth
'Plunge' is very often associated with water, though it doesn't have to be.

Jiaying
“Plunge” 作动词时，所描述的人或物体通常但不一定是 “突然落入水中”。比如：“plunge into a lake（纵身跳入湖水中）”、“plunge something into water（将某物投入水中）”。来听两个例句。 

Examples
As soon as we got too hot, we plunged into the pool to cool down.
（我们一觉得太热，就跳进游泳池里凉快一下。）

To stop the eggs from continuing to cook, plunge them into ice water.
（为了防止鸡蛋继续加热，把它们放入冰水中。）

Beth
'Plunge' is similar to 'plummet' in that it means to literally move or fall down, but 'plummet' is not normally associated with liquid.

Jiaying
That's right. “Plummet” 所描述 “急剧下降” 的人或物体通常不会 “落入水中”，而是 “突然跌倒或坠落在地”。听两个例句。

Examples
She had a nightmare that the plane crashed and plummeted to the ground.
（她做了一个噩梦，梦见飞机坠毁，摔落到地面上。） 

Buildings shook and rocks plummeted down the mountain during the earthquake.
（地震时建筑物摇晃，岩石从山上坠落。）

Beth
Similar words to 'plummet', when it means things or people moving downward, are 'tumble' or 'drop'.

Jiaying
接着我们来看一看 “plunge” 、“plummet” 和 “slump” 在谈论数据、金钱和商业等抽象意义的事物时的用法。 

Beth
Yes. All three words, 'plunge', 'plummet' and 'slump' can mean decrease suddenly and are commonly used with nouns like 'share', 'price' and 'income'.

Jiaying
这三个动词都可以表示 “（数值、数字）暴跌，骤减”，常与这三个词搭配使用的名词有 “share”、“price” 和 “income”。

Beth
Similar words could be 'nosedive' or 'tumble'. Listen to these examples.

Examples
Share prices have plunged since the director of the company left.
（公司董事长离职后，股价暴跌。） 

House prices have plummeted in the last two months.
（过去两个月房价暴跌。）

Sales have slumped by more than 50% in the last six months.
（在过去的六个月里，销售额下降了50%多。） 

Jiaying
“Plunge”、“plummet” 和 “slump” 作名词时该怎么用呢？

Beth
Well, 'plunge', 'plummet' and 'slump' as nouns are commonly used in phrases like 'there has been a plunge in' or 'there was a plummet in or a slump in' something.

Jiaying
没错。在这些句型中，“in” 的后面跟名词或名词短语，用来具体说明是什么数值出现了 “骤降”。来听三个例句。

Examples
There is always a plunge in the prices of winter hats in spring and summer.
（冬帽的价格总会在春夏两季大幅下降。）

Since the dress code was relaxed, there has been a plummet in sales of office wear.
（自从着装要求放宽以来，职业装的销量直线下降。）

There has been a slump in the price of mobile phones.
（手机价格已经大幅下降。）

Jiaying
最后，我们来仔细看一看问题中的第三个词 “slump”。刚刚我们讲过，“slump” 同样可以用来谈论抽象意义上的 “（数值）骤降”。但它在谈论人或物体时，常常描述 “一个人因疲劳或生病而沉重地倒下”。

Beth
It's also used when a person leans or bends forward, if they're sad, for example.

Examples
She went very pale and slumped onto the floor.
（她脸色苍白，跌倒在地。）

After lunch, my grandad slumped in a chair and didn't wake up for hours.
（午饭后，爷爷倒在椅子上，一下睡了好几个小时。）

Jiaying
补充一点，名词 “slump” 还可以指 “萧条期”。

Beth
Yes. There could be an economic slump for a few months or years, or a football team might feel down after a slump of losses.

Jiaying
好了，总结一下：在描述具体实物时，“plunge” 和 “plummet” 都可以用来表示 “人或物体突然向下移动，位置骤降”，但 “plunge” 常用来表示 “突然落入水中”，而 “plummet” 则常用来表示 “突然坠落在地”，“slump” 只能用来表示 “一个人跌坐、重重地倒下” 或 “低头垂肩地坐”。 

在描述抽象数值时，“plunge、plummet” 和 “slump” 都可以用来表示 “销售额、收入、价格等数值暴跌”。此外，只有名词 “slump” 可以指 “萧条期”。 

Beth
Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Jiaying
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye, everyone.

Beth
Bye!